Filling apparatus for gasoline or the like liquid



Feb. 24, 1970 HIYQSHI TATS UNQ 3,497,107

FILLING APPARATUS FOR GASOLINE OR THE LIKE LIQUID t Filed May 16. 1968 3 Sheets Shea 1 I 00 00000000 mnmuunmnuunnmuunmuuon oo o 0 0000000 oooooooooo CIDDDDDDUDDDUDUDUUDDDD O O O O O O O O DUUDDDDDDDDUUCJDDUDDDD, O O O O O O O O 0 INVENTOR lyosm TATSUIVO BY WK W 'ATTYS Feb. 24, 19 70 mypsm TATSUNO 07 FILLING APPARATUS FOR GASOLINE on THE LIKE LIQUID I Filed May 16, 1968 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR HIYOSH/ TA TSUIVO m W ATT'YS Feb. 24, 1970 3,497,101

FILLING APPARATUS FOR GASOLINE OR THE LIKE LIQUID I Filed May 16. 1968 HIYOSHI TATSUNQ 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIG.5

Hlvosm r i i fiwo Maw ATTYS United States Patent Int. 'Cl. B67d /22 U.S. Cl. 22226 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The present invention relates to an apparatus for filling gasoline or the like liquid in which the member consumer can set pumping means ready for supplying the liquid with his own key and concurrently put a supply-by-supply accumulative flow meter offered for himself into operative position.

The present invention relates to an apparatus for filling gasoline or the like liquid and more particularly to a device whereby every member consumer can set pumping means ready for dispensing said liquid with a key deposited for him. With the key the consumer concurrrently causes engagement of an input shaft of his individual accumulative fiow meter with a common driving shaft mechanically connected with a main driving shaft for actuating the common and conventional main flow meter of the gasoline pump or station.

In every selling business it is desired to collect and hold regular customers. For that purpose one of the most effective methods is to sell on credit. This is of course applicable to the gasoline or other fuel dispensing station. In sales, however, difficulty is encountered in the preparation, classification or assortment, preservation and gathering of the credit vouchers. This naturally requires more labor in addition to usual personal attendance to the customers; or more workers for said additional business. Due to serious lack of man power heretofore, the credit methods were actually impracticable. In fact selfservice filling operation is necessary to save labor in gasoline filling stations.

An object of the present invention is, thus, to provide an apparatus adapted to allow self-service gasoline filling operation and accumulatively indicate the amount of the fuel supplied to the motor car of every member customer. Subsequently the credit which has been extended may be settled periodically as, for instance, at the end of each month.

Another object is to provide a device for attaining the purpose referred to above which is of simple structure and can be readily installed in the usual filling station without the necessity of refitting any equipment thereof.

Still other object is to provide a device as referred to whichis adapted to be easily actuated by each of the member customers. The apparatus sets the filling device ready for operation and concurrently puts the customers own accumulative flow meter into operative condition so as to start the movement indicator of said accumulative meter immediately when the fuel supplying operation is commenced to actuate the usual and common main flow meter.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists of certain novel features of construction, arrangement and a combination of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that various changes in the form, proportion,

3,497,107 Patented Feb. 24, 1970 size and minor details of the structure may be made without departing from the spirit of sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS For the purpose of facilitating an understanding of my invention, I have illustrated in the accompanying drawings preferred embodiments thereof, from an inspection of which, when considered in connection with the following description, my invention, its mode of construction, assembly and operation, and many of its advantages should be readily understood and appreciated.

Referring to the drawings in which the same characters of reference are employed to indicate corresponding or similar parts throughout the several figures of the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the apparatus of the invention applied to the gasoline filling station;

FIG. 2 is a top plan of a lock and a lid pivotally mounted on said lock;

FIG. 3 is a schematic front view of a main part of the apparatus in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing the apparatus of the invention installed in the gasoline filling station; and

FIG. 5 is a schematic side View similar to FIG. 3 but showing another arrangement of the lock in relation to the electric switch.

Referring now to FIG. 1 of the drawings, there is provided a device embodying the present invention as indicated generally by reference numeral 10. Said device is positioned on the upper portion of a gasoline filling stand or pump which is positioned on an underground reservoir (not shown). The pump contains therein pumping means for supplying fuel from said reservoir to the motor car through a duct having a nozzle 46, provided at the free end of said duct, when the operator actuates a conventional valve trigger 44 provided on said nozzle. On the front panel of the device 10 there is provided a conventional common main flow meter 12 to indicate the amount of fuel for each filling operation, a-plurality of disk lids 14 each of which bears a numeral figure or any other appropriate symbol identifying the respective member consumer, and a plurality of accumulative flow meters 16 for indicating the amount of fuel supplied for the registered consumer. The flow meters may be independently reset to zero at any time when the credit has been paid by the consumer. The disk lid 14 is pivotably mounted on a lock 18 by means of a pin 141, as illustrated in FIG. 2. In this instance it bears a numeral figure 7 which means that the corresponding lock 18 can be actuated merely by the member customer as registered under said number with his own key, and the adjacently positioned flow meter 16 is his own.

In FIG. 3, there are shown two sets of accumulative meters 16 vertically movably mounted on a panel 24 with locks 18 positioned respectively under each of said meters 16. An indicator 162 of the right hand meter 16 is illustrated as recording that the particular customer has been supplied with fuel in the amount of 924 liters. The left indicator shows 1,346 liters. The accumulative flow meter 16 has a gear wheel 163 for driving the respective indicator 162. Details of construction have been omitted because the same are obvious to those skilled in the art. The front Wall of the casing of said meter 16 has a longitudinal slit 28 to engage with a cooperating pin 241 positioned on said panel 24 for supporting said meter 16 in vertically movable relationship of a limited stroke character as referred to above. Said meter 16 also has a pin 161 located at the lower end of said casing wall. The lock 18 is rotatably mounted on said panel 24 and has a drum member 22 which rotates together with said lock 18.

Said drum member 22 has a substantially arcuate recess or slit 221 and a protruding cam portion 222, the function of which will be explained in more detail hereinafter.

The arcuate slit 221 is so designed that the radius gradually increases from one end of said arcuate slit to the other end thereof. The pin 161 of the meter engages with the arcuate slit 221 so formed in the drum member that when the lock 18 is turned clockwise (as viewed in FIG. 3) by the consumers manual operation of the key inserted in said lock 18, said meter 16 descends with the aid and cooperation of the pin 241 in the vertical slit 28 formed in the panel of the meter casing wall.

At the lowermost position of the meter 16, the gear wheel 163 thereof may mesh with a gear Wheel 301 fixedly mounted on a common shaft 30 for driving, for example, 10 independent accumulative meters 16. There are of course a plurality of rows of meters (as shown in FIG. 1) and consequently there are a corresponding number of shafts 30, each of which shafts has a bevel gear 303 mounted at one end thereof so as to mesh with another bevel gear 341 fixedly mounted on a vertical common shaft 34.

The lowermost row shaft 30 has another bevel gear 302 fixedly mounted at the other end thereof as shown in FIG. 4. Said bevel gear 302 meshes with a bevel gear 321 attached on a vertical shaft 32 which is rotatively driven by flow meter driving means 48 connected with pumping means 42 driven by motor means 40. Said flow meter driving means has another output shaft 36 which is connected to the common and main flow meter 12.

It is believed to be unnecessary to make more detailed explanation of said motor means 40, pumping means 42 and flow meter driving means 48 as mounted in the gasoline filling stand, since they are conventional and well known in this technical field. It will be appreciated that none of the meters 16 can be driven without actuating the corresponding lock 18 and consequently drum member 22 into the operating position, even when the fuel is supplied for other consumers and when said shaft 36 is driven to actuate the main common fiow meter 12 and shafts 32, 34, 30 are driven for actuating any of the other accumulative flow meters 16.

When said lock 18 is rotated clockwise in FIG. 3 so as to lower said meter 16 to its operative position, the protruding cam portion 222 of the drum member 22 will urge a contact 381 to close a microswitch 38 whereby the circuit for driving motor means 40 is established so that actuation of the trigger 44 may allow filling of gasoline to the motor car through the nozzle 46.

In the embodiment as referred to above, one microswitch is provided for each respective lock. In general, however, it is preferable to avoid so many switches for driving the motor means, because the circuit becomes too complicated. Moreover, the cost is excessive since said switches must be of the anti-explosion type since they are located in the vicinity of the reservoir and ducts of inflammable gasoline.

In FIG. another embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in which a single common switch for driving the motor means is provided for a plurality of locks and adapted to be actuated by every lock. For purposes of illustration, similar parts are designated by like numerals with the added suffix a.

Similar to the embodiment of FIG. 3, the accumulative flow meter 1611 has a longitudinal slit in which the pin 241a positioned on the panel 24a is engaged; so also is the pin 161a positioned at the lower portion of the meter casing Wall. The pin 161a engages with the slit as in FIG. 3, but the substantially arcuate recess 221a is formed in the drum member 22a. Thus by rotating the lock 20a and consequently the drum member 22a affixed thereto, the meter 16a is lowered so that the gear wheel 163a meshes with the gear wheel 301a fixedly mounted on the common shaft 30a, just like in FIG. 3.

As in the first embodiment, the drum member 22a has a protruding cam portion 222a, but this protrudes, not radially as in FIG. 3, but axially and inwardly as seen in FIG. 5. Said cam portion 222a actuates the switch 38a not directly but through a transversely extending rod member 50 which is biased by spring means (not shown). The single microswitch 38a has an outwardly extending rod 381a. There is provided, between said rod 381a and said transversely extending rod member 50, a connecting rod 52 the outer end of which abuts normally to said transverse rod 50. Thus, when the drum member is rotated as in FIG. 3 to lower the meter 16a and cause the meshing of gear 163a with the gear 301a, said protruding portion 222a shifts said bar 50 leftward in FIG. 5 against the force of the spring means (not shown) so that the switch 38a is closed through said member 52 and 381a. Since the bar 50 extends transversely, rotation of any one of the many locks arranged in one row may actuate the single switch 38a. If necessary, said bar 50 may be connected with other row bars similarly transversely extending, by means of link means so that only one switch is sufiicient for a plurality of rows of locks.

In order to secure smoother and more reliable relative movement between the meter 16a and the panel 24a, it is preferable to provide another pin 54 mounted on the panel so as to engage in a slit formed in the meter casing wall. On the meter casing wall there is further provided a substantially U-shaped sheet spring 56 having a free end 561 which bears against the head of pin 54 When the meter 16a and consequently the gear 163a is in its lowermost position. This insures meshing of the same with the gear 301a.

In the foregoing description, the present invention has been explained in detail as applied to the gasoline filling station but it should be noted that the present invention may be applied to any other liquid dispensing apparatus and that various modifications and changes in the shape, construction and arrangement of the parts in said embodiments may be made Without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention to be claimed hereinafter.

It is believed that my invention, its mode of construction and assembly, and many of its advantages should be readily understood from the foregoing without further description, and it should also be manifest that while a preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown and described for illustrative purposes, the structural details are nevertheless capable of wide variation within the purview of my invention.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. Apparatus for dispensing liquid comprising:

a common and main flow meter means for indicating the amount of liquid supplied for each dispensing operation and adapted to be reset to Zero after each dispensing operation;

a plurality of accumulative flow meter means respectively for indicating the amount of liquid supplied to the member consumer over an extended period of time;

a corresponding number of lock means respectively positioned adjacent to the associated accumulating flow member means;

a common shaft transversely extending over a plurality of accumulative flow meter means arranged in one row;

means drivingly connected to said shaft and actuated by flowing liquid being dispensed to drive said main fiow meter means;

means for drivingly connecting each of said accumulative flow meter means with said common shaft and including:

a drum body integral with said lock means and having a substantially arcuate slit which gradually increases in radius from one end thereof to the other end thereof,

said accumulated flow meter means each having a casing wall with a vertical slit,

a pin mounted on said casing wall and engaging in the associated arcuate slit,

a pin engaging in said vertical slit for guiding and supporting said accumulative flow meter means, and

means for closing a normally open switch which sets the liquid dispensing apparatus ready for dispensing operation,

whereby rotation of said lock means in one direction by the member consumer with his own key inserted into said lock means vertically moves the associated flow meter means to engage and be driven by said shaft to ready the liquid dispensing apparatus for dispensing operation and concurrently render operative his own accumulative flow meter means.

2. The apparatus as set forth in claim 1 in which said switch closing means comprises a cam portion radially projecting from said drum body and arranged to abut said normally open contact to close said switch upon rotation of said lock means in one direction.

3. The apparatus as set forth in claim 1 in which said switch closing means comprises a cam portion axially projected on said drum body, a transversely extending bar which is common to a plurality of said lock means and biased by a spring means towards said drum body,

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,645,545 10/1927 Sekinger 222-153 1,808,447 6/1931 Asper 235-94 2,024,492 12/1935 Wallace 235-94 2,995,275 8/1961 Brice 22226 3,026,032 3/1962 Settlemire 222-15 3 3,380,630 4/1968 Wilson 22226 SAMUEL F. COLEMAN, Primary Examiner H. S. LANE, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

